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Welcome to Haute-N-Ready, in which John Locanthi, Willamette Weekâs trencherman of leisure, tastes the hastily made, modestly priced food of the common man.
But I was somewhat inspired by the design, and so I returned to my flippity floppity floop to make my own Ripân Chickân. I also combined it with a recipe that had long piqued my interest because Iâm trendy as hell: I made a Nashville Hot Ripân Chickân with hot fried pickles. And now you can, too.
Nashville Hot Rip'n Chick'n & Pickles a la Haute-N-Ready
Ingredients:
1 boneless chicken breast
1 1/2 cups of flour
the big bottle of Valentina (hot sauce substitutes possible but not recommended)
some eggs
a few fingers of milk
1 jar of hot dill pickles
a jug of canola oil
cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, garlic powder, brown sugar
Instructions:
1) Pound chicken breast with mallet until it is tender and of relatively even thickness throughout
2) Cut lengthwise, making sure each strip is still connected to the base. The Ripân Chickân doesnât work if the tentacles have become tenders. I cannot stress this enough, people.
3) Slice pickles lengthwise or just buy chips or something.
4) Mix eggs, milk and Valentina in a bowl. (Not the whole Valentina bottle, mind you. Just as much as youâd normally slather over chicken.)
5) Put the flour with a pinch of salt in a different bowl.
6) Mix the cayenne, paprika, garlic powder and brown sugar in yet another bowl. Make sure mixture is mostly cayenne and paprika because those are the good seasonings.
7) Heat oil to 325 degrees. No more, no less. (Unless you are okay with everyone laughing at you, then by all means donât monitor the temperature.)
8) Roll the Ripân Chickân in the flour, then bathe it in the luxuriant hot sauce mixture, then back in the flour before you toss it into the scalding oil.
9) Cook until a sexy golden brown.
10) Remove chicken from oil with a slotted metal spoon.
11) Set chicken aside on drying rack. You remembered to set up a drying rack, right?
12) Repeat steps 8-11 but with pickles. The batter is your guide once again.
13) The most important step: Get a cup of the 325-degree cooking oil and slowly pour it into the bowl with the cayenne-paprika-garlic-brown sugar mixture while whisking like youâve never whisked before.
14) Brush this heavenly hot oil over the chicken and pickles. (Pro tip: If you are a busy high-powered writing guy like me, you can also dump the hot oil directly over the chicken and pickles. The maid can clean up the mess.)
15) Get ripping. Some might argue that pouring hot oil over chicken right before you rip it apart with your own two hands is less than ideal, but those people are wusses.
1 boneless chicken breast
1 1/2 cups of flour
the big bottle of Valentina (hot sauce substitutes possible but not recommended)
some eggs
a few fingers of milk
1 jar of hot dill pickles
a jug of canola oil
cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, garlic powder, brown sugar
Instructions:
1) Pound chicken breast with mallet until it is tender and of relatively even thickness throughout
2) Cut lengthwise, making sure each strip is still connected to the base. The Ripân Chickân doesnât work if the tentacles have become tenders. I cannot stress this enough, people.
3) Slice pickles lengthwise or just buy chips or something.
4) Mix eggs, milk and Valentina in a bowl. (Not the whole Valentina bottle, mind you. Just as much as youâd normally slather over chicken.)
5) Put the flour with a pinch of salt in a different bowl.
6) Mix the cayenne, paprika, garlic powder and brown sugar in yet another bowl. Make sure mixture is mostly cayenne and paprika because those are the good seasonings.
7) Heat oil to 325 degrees. No more, no less. (Unless you are okay with everyone laughing at you, then by all means donât monitor the temperature.)
8) Roll the Ripân Chickân in the flour, then bathe it in the luxuriant hot sauce mixture, then back in the flour before you toss it into the scalding oil.
9) Cook until a sexy golden brown.
10) Remove chicken from oil with a slotted metal spoon.
11) Set chicken aside on drying rack. You remembered to set up a drying rack, right?
12) Repeat steps 8-11 but with pickles. The batter is your guide once again.
13) The most important step: Get a cup of the 325-degree cooking oil and slowly pour it into the bowl with the cayenne-paprika-garlic-brown sugar mixture while whisking like youâve never whisked before.
14) Brush this heavenly hot oil over the chicken and pickles. (Pro tip: If you are a busy high-powered writing guy like me, you can also dump the hot oil directly over the chicken and pickles. The maid can clean up the mess.)
15) Get ripping. Some might argue that pouring hot oil over chicken right before you rip it apart with your own two hands is less than ideal, but those people are wusses.
(DISCLAIMER: John is not a professional chef. This is not an ancient Locanthi family recipe so much as it is a recipe synthesized from online Nashville Hot Chicken recipes half-assed for the readersâ needs. Nashville Hot Pickles are not actually a thing yet, but by golly they should be.)
WWeek 2015